Pope: Church may be forced to ordain married men

But says removing celibacy rule not answer to priest shortage

Published: 03/10/2017 at 9:50 AM

BERLIN (AP) — Pope Francis says the church must study whether it’s possible to ordain married men to minister in remote communities facing priest shortages.

In an interview published Thursday with Germany’s Die Zeit, Francis stressed that removing the celibacy rule is not the answer to the Catholic Church’s priest shortage. But he expressed an openness to studying whether so-called “viri probati” — or married men of proven faith — could be ordained.

“We must consider if viri probati is a possibility. Then we must determine what tasks they can perform, for example, in remote communities,” he was quoted as saying.